Coke oven door fastener



D 6, 1955 F. R. GRIFFIN 2,726,111

coma: OVEN DOOR FASTENER Filed April 2, l 2 Sheets-Sheet l IN VEN TOR. F/eA NCJ'S A GR] FFJA.

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Jaz's Dec. 6, 1955 F. R. GRIFFIN COKE OVEN DOOR F'ASTENER 2 SheetsShee( 2 Filed April 2, 1953 wk r -w awk? 1N VLN TOR. FRA N618 Q GPIFFIA/ w m W United States Patent COKE OVEN DOOR FASTENER Francis R. Grifiin, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor' to Koppers Company, Inc., a corporation of Delaware Application April 2, 1953, Serial No. 346,480

7 Claims. (Cl. 292259) The present invention relates to coke oven doors and particularly to an improved and economical apparatus for fastening and unfasteniug coke. oven doors. whenplaced in a closed position. It is more particularly concerned with a fluid operated locking means for use in such apparatus.

Inthe prior art, coke oven doors are generally fastened closed by latch bars moved into tightened nosition by a rotatable screw member. Rotation of the screw member causes a latch bar to move outwardly relative to the door with which it is associated until such outward movement of the latch bar is arrested by hookv means fixed to the door jamb frame structure. The pressure established between the latch bar and said hook means is transmitted to the door and provides the force required to move the door into seal-fastened position against the door jamb frame. By rotating the screw member in the opposite direction, the stress between the latch bar and door hooks is released and the pressure between the door and door jamb frame is relieved. The latch bar may then be disengaged fromthe hooks and the door removed from the closed position.

This means of fastening doors thru. a rotatable screw member is time consuming, and excessive pressure applied to the screw member may result in permanent distortion of the sealing edges between the door and the door jamb frame structure when the door is inthe closed position.

The present invention eliminates these aforementioneddisadvantages and assures a seal fastened closure or a door against the door jamb frame with: which it. conforms thru an economical, straightforward and easy-tooperate apparatus.

One of the features of the present invention isto provide a door fastening means that is more efiicient and time savin in operation than heretofore known.

Another feature of the invention is to provide an automatic locking means that is structurally so designed that subsequent wear thereon will not eflfect further eflicient locking operation.

More particularly, the present invention provides a coke oven door mechanism for fastening. and unfastening a door having a sealing member adapted to cooperate with the sealing surface of a door jamb frame of a door jamb frame structure at the end of a coking retort oven, comprising a coke oven door, a latch bar support member fixed to said door, a latch bar 'rotatably and slideably mounted on said support member and adapted to cooperate with said door jamb frame structure to place said door in closed position, power means adapted to engage said latch bar relative to the door to move said latch bar into door closin cooperation with said jarnb frame structure, and lock means adapted to automatically fasten said latch bar to its said support member when the door is in closed position, thereby fastening said door and allowing said power means to be disengaged from said latch bar, said power means being adapted to unfasten' said latch bar when reenga'ge'd with said latch bar.

The power means that is usedv comprises a bellows motors with claw members and a thrust sleeve member, these members being moveable relative to each other. The claw members are adapted to grip a projection on the latch bar in order to bring it into engagement with the aforementioned. door hooks. The thrust sleeve members are adapted to move simultaneously in: an opposite directionv from the claw members to abut against door projections, thus urging the door toward the door jamb frame structure. These movements bring a locking spin.- dle and a recess into which said. spindle enters into alignment, thus locking. the door in a closed position.

It is obvious that various changes can be made by one skilled in the art in the arrangement, form, construction and. type of the various elements disclosed with out departing from the scope or spirit of this invention.

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawing which. illustrates and exemplifies an embodiment of the apparatus of the invention in a preferred type of construction.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the latch bar and bellows motor in. partial cut-away section.

Fig. 2 is an end view of the apparatus of Fig. 1.

Fig- 3 is a side view thereof with the bellows motor in cut-away section.

in Fig. 1, there is shown in closed position the door 4 at the end of a coking chamber (not shown). Bolted to the door by bolt 6 is the sea-ling member 8 having a sealing edge 9 which abuts against a substantially flat portion 10 of jainb frame 12. Abutting against the sealing members 8 to maintain pressure thereon when the edge has been: brought into engagement with the jamo frame 12. are the spring. loaded plungers 11. The jamb frame l2v is held in position against the walls of the coking chamber (not shown) by buck stays (not shown) and the bolts '13 hold the plug retainers (not shown) to the door 4 as is conventional in the art.

A casting 16 is fastened to the door 4 by means of the bolts 18. This casting has a recess 26 in the central portion thereof, which. is adapted to receive a spindle 2d. The spindle 20 is fastened to the casting by means of a tapered pin and key arrangement 28 provided in the casting and the spindle. Integral with the spindle is a head portion 22 forming shoulder 24, the head portion being of larger diameter than the remainder of the body of the spindle.

A latch bar 30 is disclosed having a central recessed portion 32 of sufiicient diameter to permit the latch bar to be rotatably and axially slidably mounted on the spindle 20. A second central recessed portion 34 is provided in the latch bar contiguous to the central recess 32, the recess 34 having a greater diameter than recess 32. A roller thrust bearing 36 is inserted in this recessed portion 34. The thrust bearing 36 is held in place in the recessed portion by means of an end plate 38 bolted to the latch bar body by the bolts at). This thrust bearing has an internal diameter of sufficient size to enable it to conform with the inner portion of the spindle 2i) and provides radial and thrust service when the latch bar is actuated. An oil seal 42 is positioned in the end plate 33 and isadapted to engage the outer periphery of the spindle 20.

An inwardly tapering recess 44- is provided in one side of the latch bar 30, normal to the latch bars central axis of rotation. One end of this recess communicates with the central recess 32, and the other end is sealed by a plug 46. A fluid passageway 48 leads from the outer face 49 of the latch bar to the plug end of the tapered recess. A second fluid passage 5% spaced from the first fluid passage 48 leads from. the outer face 49 of the latch bar to the central recessed portion 32. A tapered. pin or plunger 52 is slidably mounted in the tapered recess 44. A second inwardly tapering recess 54 is provided in the head portion 22 of the spindle 20 and is so positioned that it will be aligned with the recess 44 in the latch bar when said latch bar arms 56 have been moved into engagement with the hook members 58 fastened to the door jamb frame structure 12. A fluid passage 60 in the head portion 22 of the spindle 20 communicates with the inner end of the tapered recess 54. This passage 60 is so positioned in the head portion 22 of the spindle 20 that it will be aligned with the fluid passage 50 in the latch bar when the latch bar is moved into the aforedescribed position.

A gripping knob 62 is screw threaded on the outer face of the latch bar 30 between the passages 48 and 50. This gripping knob has a head portion 64 with a flared skirt portion 66 integral therewith, forming a shoulder 68. The shoulder 68 is adapted to be engaged by the claw member 70 of the bellows motor 72 as hereinafter described.

As shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, the bellows motor has a pneumatic or fluid expansible pressure chamber 74. A member 76 forming one side of this pressure chamber 74 is connected to the wall of a carrier means (not disclosed) in Cardan-joint fashion by springs 80. The other side 82 of the pressure chamber 74 has a forwardly projecting thrust cylinder 84 integral therewith. Fastened to the thrust cylinder by screws 83 is a thrust sleeve 86. The thrust sleeve has two pipes (Fig. l) 48' and 50' attached thereto which are connected to a fluid source (not shown) and which are so positioned that they will communicatively engage respectively with the fluid passages 48 and 50 in the latch bar 30 when the thrust sleeve, upon engagement of the bellows motor 72 with the latch bar 30, engages door projections 88, as shown in Fig. 3.

The side 76 of the pressure chamber housing is fixed on a shaft 90 between nut 92 screwed upon the shaft and a shoulder 94 of the shaft. One end of the shaft 90 passes thru the wall of the carrier means in such a way as not to interfere with the Cardan-type movement of the bellows motor 72 in order that claw members 70 might properly engage with the gripping knob 62 on the latch bar when the parts are not accurately centered. The claw members 70 are pivotedly mounted to the other end of the shaft 90 on bearings 96. These claw members are semicircular in vertical cross-section and are provided with hooked ends (Fig. l) to grip the shoulder 68 on the end of the gripping knob 62. They are further provided (Fig. 3) in the vinicity of the pivotal mountings 6 with inwardly directed lugs 98 which contact the rounded head portion 64 of gripping knob 62 when the bellows motor is first brought into operating position. These lugs 98 are so positioned on the claws 70 that upon contact of the lugs with round head portion 64 of the gripping knob 62, the claws are contracted. These claws embrace the shoulder 68 of the gripping knob 62 when actuated and are held thereon by the screw bolts 106. These screw bolts 106 are positioned in walls of thrust cylinder 84 and act to ride upon claws 70 when shaft 90 is moved out relative to the thrust cylinder 84. This counter-directional motion is produced by expansion of the chamber 74. The expansion fluid in chamber 74 pushes, on the one hand, the thrust cylinder 84 and thrust sleeve 86 attached thereto inwardly against the door projections 88 and in so doing pushes the door 4 to a closed position, and, on the other hand, the expansion fluid in the chamber 74 simultaneously pushes side 76 outwardly to move shaft 99 outwardly from said door. This opposite movement of shaft 90 outwardly with respect to inward movement of thrust cylinder 84 causes screw bolts 106 to hold the hooked ends of claws 70 in engagement with shoulder 68 of gripping knob 62. The thus engaged claws pull the latch bar 30 away from door 4 and into engagement with latch hooks 58 simultaneously with the pushing of the door 4 away from the latch bar 30. Thus, a power lock is created and no force is transmitted to the carrier means of the bellows motor 73 but spring tension is established in the door 4. The thus described movement aligns the tapered recess 44 with the recess 54 and further aligns the fluid passages 50 and 60.

The counter-directional movement of the claws and thrust cylinder 84 effect a compression of the Cardansprings and of the spring 100 which surrounds the shaft and is positioned between collar 102 integral with the shaft 90 and the corresponding collar 104 integral with the side 82.

It will be realized that it is not necessary to introduce fluid into chamber 74 prior to positioning the door in a closed position with thrust sleeve 86 abutting the door projection 88 in order to close the claws 70 in on the head 62, since this is done by the lugs 98. Expansion of the chamber 74 causes shaft 90 to move outwardly from said door and effect the gripping engagement of the shoulder 68 by the book ends of claws 70 as described above.

When chamber 74 is allowed to contract, the springs 39 and expand. The thrust cylinder 84 moves away from door part 88 and the latch bar 30 causing the screws 166 to come into tilting engagement with projections 108 that are positioned on the claw members 70 to spread the claw members apart. The claw members are thus pivoted out of engagement with the shoulder 68 of the gripping knob 62, and the bellows motor 72 is thus disengaged from the door part 88 and from the latch bar member 30.

In operation, a latch lifter (not shown) places the latch bar 30 in a horizontal position. The bellows motor 72 is brought into engagement with the latch bar 30, the pressure chamber 74 is expanded and claw members 70 engage and pull the gripping knob 62 on the latch bar 30, while the thrust sleeve 86 presses against the door projections 88 to move door 4 against the jamb frame 12 (Fig. 3). When the latch bar and bellows motor are so positioned, air or some other suitable fluid is automatically injected into the fluid pipes 48, entering a liquid fluid passageway 48, causing the tapered pin 52 to be driven into the aligned port 54 in the spindle 20 to lock latch bar 30 in closed position and bellows motor removed.

In order to unlatch the latch bar, the bellows motor is applied again and air or some other suitable fluid is injected into the fluid pipe 50', entering a liquid fluid passageway 50, to drive the tapered pin 52 out of the door spindle recess 54, thus breaking the locked connection between the door spindle 20 and the latch bar 30. The latch lifter is then free to lift the latch bar 30 out of engagement with the latch hooks S8, at which time the bellows motor may remain in place or be removed from the door.

Features of the bellows motor 72 and its elements in coactive combination with other parts of a coke oven door as disclosed but unclaimed herein are the subject of the inventions of the common assignees copending application of Paul van Ackeren and Franz Doll Patent 2,668,075 of 1954 and Franz Doll application Serial No. 297,433 filed July 7, 1952, copending with the application for this patent.

While the description and drawings illustrate a particular embodiment of the invention, various modifications within the language of the description and claims are intended to be claimed herein.

The invention claimed is:

l. A coke oven door mechanism for fastening and unfastening a door having a sealing member adapted to cooperate with a sealing surface of a door jamb frame of a door jamb frame structure at the end of a coking retort oven, comprising a coke oven door, a latch bar support member fixed to said door, a latch bar rotatably and axially slideably mounted on said support member and adapted to cooperate with said door jamb frame structure to place said door in closed position, power means adapted to engage said latch bar to move said latch bar axially of its support member into door closing cooperation with said jamb frame structure and lock means adapted to automatically fasten said latch bar to its support member when said door is in closed position thereby fastening said door and allowing said power means to be disengaged from said latch bar, said power means being adapted to axially move the latch bar relative to its support member to unfasten said latch bar when the power means is reengaged with said latch bar.

2. A coke oven door mechanism for fastening and unfastening a door having a sealing member adapted to cooperate with a sealing surface of a door jamb frame of a door jamb frame structure at the end of a coking retort oven, comprising a coke oven door, a spindle positively fixed to the outer face of said door, said spindle having a recess therein, a latch bar rotatably and axially slideably mounted on said spindle and adapted to cooperate with said door jamb frame structure to place said door in closed position, said latch bar having a recess therein adapted to be aligned with said spindle recess when said latch bar is placed in door closing position, power means adapted to engage said door and said latch bar simultaneously to move said sealing member of said door against said sealing surface of said door jamb frame and said latch bar away from said door into door closing position with said jamb frame structure whereby said recesses of said spindle and said latch bar are aligned, and a fluid operating plunger system automatically cooperating with said recesses in said latch bar and said spindle when aligned to fasten and unfasten said latch bar to said door spindle.

3. A coke oven door mechanism for fastening and unfastening a door having a sealing member adapted to cooperate with a sealing surface of a door jamb frame of a door jamb frame structure at the end of a coking retort oven, comprising a coke oven door, a spindle positively fixed to the outer face of said door, said spindle having a recess therein, a latch bar rotatably and slideably mounted on said spindle and adapted to cooperate with said door jamb frame structure to place said door in closed position, said latch bar having a recess therein adapted to be aligned with said recess in said spindle when said latch bar is placed in door closing position, power means adapted to engage said door and said latch bar simultaneously to move said sealing member of said door against said sealing surface of said door jamb frame and said latch bar on said spindle away from said door into door closing position with said jamb frame structure whereby said recesses of said spindle and said latch bar are aligned, a plunger positioned in said recess of said latch bar, fluid passageways in said latch bar and said spindle communicably connected to the respective recesses therein and a fluid source for said passageways, said fluid source adapted to automatically cooperate with said fluid passageways to actuate said plunger when said recesses are aligned to fasten and unfasten said latch bar to said spindle.

4. A coke oven door mechanism for fastening and unfastening a door having a sealing member adapted to cooperate with a sealing surface of a door jamb frame of a door jamb frame structure at the end of a coking retort oven, comprising a coke oven door, a spindle positively fixed to the outer face of said door, said spindle having a tapered recess portion in one side thereof tapering inwardly toward the longitudinal center line of said spindle, a fluid passageway in said spindle communicably connected to the tapered recess portion, a latch bar rotatably and slideably mounted on said spindle and adapted to cooperate with said door jamb frame structure to place said door in closed position, said latch bar having a tapered recess portion therein, tapering inwardly toward the longitudinal center line of said spindle and adapted to be aligned with said recess in said spindle when said latch bar is placed in door closing position, a fluid passageway in said latch bar communicating with said receased portion therein, a second fluid passageway in said latch bar adapted to communicate with the fluid passageway in said spindle when said recesses are in aligned position, power means adapted to engage said door and said latch bar simultaneously to move said sealing member of said door against said sealing surface of said door jamb frame and said latch bar on said spindle away from said door into door closing position with said jamb frame structure whereby said recesses of said spindle and said latch bar are aligned, a tapered plunger cooperatively positioned in said tapered recess of said latch bar, and a fluid source adapted to automatically cooperate with the fluid passageways in said latch bar and said spindle to actuate said tapered plunger when said recesses are aligned to fasten and unfasten said latch bar with said door spindle.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said latch bar has a gripping knob fixed thereto and said power means comprises a bellows actuated motor adapted to grip said knob and pull said latch bar into a closed position with a portion of the jamb frame structure and to push said door away from said latch bar against the door jamb frame.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said bellows actuated motor comprises a cylindrical housing adapted to abut against said door, a flexible expansion chamber, one side of which is connected to said housing and which is adapted to urge said housing against said door to move said door to a closed position when said chamber is expanded, a gripping member slideably mounted in said housing and adapted to grip the gripping knob on said latch bar when said housing is urged against said door, said gripping member being connected to the opposite side of said flexible expansion chamber whereby when said expansion chamber has urged said housing to move said door to a closed position, said chamber causes said gripping member which is in gripping engagement with said knob to slide relative to said housing away from said door to place said latch bar in door closing engagement with said jamb frame structure and resilient means adapted to return said bellows motor elements back to their initial position upon release of the expansion stroke of said flexible chamber.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 and fluid passageways positioned in said cylindrical housing adapted to communicate with said fluid passageways in said latch bar when said cylindrical housing abuts said door jamb frame structure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,157,566 Potter May 9, 1939 

